Living the single life certainly has its advantages, but humans are not designed for solitude. Sooner or later you will feel the need to find a soul mate.
Fortunately, there are numerous online dating platforms that match you with people who share your interests and fit your definition of ideal partner. You can then choose to go on a date with them to see if the two of you are truly a perfect match. Calling that special person is much easier from the comfort of your home. But where should you start with so many online dating sites?
You can start with eHarmony and Match, two of the most popular online dating platforms. We’ll review and compare their main features to help you decide which one is better for you.
Who are they for?
In a nutshell, both dating platforms are designed for single women and men who want to meet that special someone and commit to a stable relationship, even marriage. Keep in mind that serious dating is a big deal, so if you’re looking for one night stands, these may not be the best places to start looking.
The main difference here is that eHarmony is only for straight people, while Match offers online dating services for gay people.
Also, if you take a closer look and spend some time browsing through the list of people interested in relationships, you’ll soon realize that there are more seniors at eHarmony than at Match. This probably has something to do with Match’s decision to target younger singles in their ad campaigns.
Popularity
If online dating is an industry, these two websites are true veterans. Match has been in the online dating business since 1995 and eHarmony since 2000. So which of these two is more popular? It’s really hard to tell without revealing some statistics and numbers.
eHarmony covers 150 countries worldwide, while Match only operates in 25 countries. If we look at the US market alone, Match Take has 24 percent, while eHarmony has only 14 percent.
However, if we analyze the data available on Google Trends, we can see that both sites have experienced a downward trend over the past year.
Also, according to alexa.com, the leading site for measuring website traffic, Match ranks much better than eHarmony. These numbers and rankings change daily, but Match manages to consistently outperform eHarmony in terms of popularity.
Price
Neither of these two dating platforms is free. In fact, the pricing is quite different between the two, with different price tiers and discounts available to subscribers.
eHarmony offers three plans – Free, Basic and Total Connectivity. The free plan gives you access to your own personality profile and see the profile pages of your matches. You can’t see their photos or message them.
If you choose the basic plan, a one-month subscription will cost you $59.95. The service also offers discounted prices if you subscribe for longer. A three-month subscription will cost you $39.95 per month, six-months $29.95 per month, and a full year only $19.95 per month.
The Total Connect plan costs four dollars more per month, but it doesn’t only have a monthly option. With this, you get a much more comprehensive personality analysis, verifiable identity, and the ability to make anonymous phone calls with your matches.
Unlike eHarmony, Match does not offer separate subscription plans. Still, it’s much better in direct comparison, as it’s significantly cheaper. There is no single-month option, but choosing three months will cost you $23.99 a month, six months will cost you $19.99 a month, and a full year will cost you $17.99 a month.
Match lets you try the service for free for a full week before deciding whether you want to subscribe. However, eHarmony does not have a free trial of its own as it already offers the Free plan. However, if you sign up for one of their paid plans and cancel within three business days, you should be able to get a full refund.
Registration Process
There are also a few important differences here. You need to spare one hour to sign up for eHarmony. This is usually how long it takes to complete a very comprehensive questionnaire that will provide in-depth information about you and your personality. An hour is a bit long, but the more personal information you provide, the more accurate your matches will be.
Once the process is complete and your profile is complete, eHarmony will run you through 29 compatibility algorithms that are intended to find the perfect match.
Match is quite different as it doesn’t require a fully populated profile before you start browsing for Matches. It doesn’t take an hour even if you want to fill the profile completely first. It will take between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on your willingness to go into specific details.
On the other hand, you can’t really interact with anyone until your profile is approved. After logging in for the first time, you will have to wait up to 24 hours for your profile to be approved.
Design and Interface
eHarmony has a very well designed interface that is all about simplicity and function. It makes it easy to stay up to date on all your personal communications and interactions.
On the other hand, Match is similar to most other online dating sites and offers a number of different options to choose from. But while it may seem a little too messy, it provides a much more natural way to get around, especially when compared to eHarmony.
All things considered, eHarmony scores for creativity, while Match scores for its intuitive and easy-to-navigate designs. Therefore, we can call it a tie.
Specifications
When it comes to functionality, the main difference between the two websites is that eHarmony operates on a dating guided experience principle. You really need to trust the site’s algorithms to find the perfect match for you.
On the other hand, Matchmaking gives you a lot more freedom, so you can browse around and search for matches on your own.
The main feature of eHarmony is its 29-Dimensional Compatibility algorithm designed to dig deep and hard to find your perfect match. The algorithm bases its choices on what you say about yourself and your preferences for your future soul mate.
Basically, it’s all about finding people with the same or nearly the same interests and preferences. We have to point out that when eHarmony runs out of matches for you, you’re done. There’s nothing more you can do about it until new people who match your search criteria sign up for the service.
Matching relies on a completely different set of features. As you search for your potential perfect match, you can select multiple different filters and modify your search as you progress. The filters are organized into five categories – Appearance, Interests, Background/Values, Lifestyle, and Keyword. They go into so much detail that you can even identify your potential match’s eye color, political views, and frequency of exercise.
There is also the option to browse in private mode. What’s more, you can swipe just like you do on modern dating apps like Tinder.
With eHarmony, you have to trust what the algorithms offer you, while Match provides much more choice and flexibility. Therefore, Match is the clear winner in this category.
Quality of Matches
Let’s look at some numbers that will help us put things into perspective. eHarmony says they get 438 people married every day in the US. Considering the fact that they rely on complex algorithms to get you to your perfect match, we can say that they are pretty good at what they do.
Match, on the other hand, allows you to decide what’s best for you as well as suggest matches they believe will be good for you based on your activity on the platform.
It’s hard to say which one is better here. All in all, eHarmony focuses more on finding the right person to marry while Match is more suitable for those looking for a long-term relationship.
Communication
Both platforms offer similar communication tools with your potential soul mates. eHarmony relies more on emailing, while Match encourages users to exchange winks. Also, keep in mind that eHarmony won’t allow you to contact anyone you want, only users with whom the algorithm matches you.
Both platforms come in the form of an app that gives you more freedom, along with extra features like voice messaging with your potential matches.
The final decision
It’s hard to say which of the two platforms is better, as both offer a rather unique approach to online dating.
If you are young and looking for a serious relationship first, you should definitely check out Match. But if your twenties are far behind and you’re ready to settle down and get married, eHarmony may be a better choice.
